The Purpose of Life

Last night I watched a DVD off my shelf.  I saw it years ago, I’m sure, but I don’t remember what my thoughts were then.  I won’t forget my experience of last night’s viewing, though, and I wrote a review of my thoughts here.

The documentary I watched was called The Human Experience, and was said to be true, and filmed as it was lived out.  It begins by introducing two teenage boys, who had been hugely abused by their drunken father, and placed in a homeless shelter.  For the first time in their lives, they found peace and joy in the many things we probably would take for granted.  And they met many homeless street-people while there and heard how they lived.  It was all new to them, and so they decided to experience what they did, and went out to live on New York City streets, in the middle of winter.  Within minutes one of them was saying “this is a bad idea, let’s go back,” but they persisted.  I watched them meet many nice men, who often were friends, as the two boys experienced all the difficulties of the life of the homeless. 

Then the boys heard of a ministry to help the poor in South America, and so they joined for another new experience in life.  In South America (and later Africa) they met and experienced much more poverty and illness and lack of basic needs most Americans never think of.  And while there they met people who were dedicating their lives to helping those poor people, foregoing much more comfortable lives in the United States.  I think the boys learned about the Christian faith there, and the call to “Love your neighbor,” and saw it lived out.  And they met, much to their surprise, many poor people who lovingly helped one another to live.

In Africa, many adults had died of AIDS, and other poor families took in their many children, caring for them as their own.  The two boys from the United States were welcomed; no country or politics or religion or skin color mattered.  The boys experienced, in so many ways, love and the love of families. And they concluded their search for life experiences with the realization that all people are made for a purpose, and while alive a key point was to live and receive love; we are all part of the human family, God’s children.

The video was very moving, and it won many awards.  It demonstrates, by showing real, lived human experiences, what life is about.  When I finished watching it last night, my thoughts went to Jesus’ love for the children and the poor.  Those two boys were experiencing how to love God and love their neighbor, as God loves them.  And their actions brought joy to the human family.  I assume many people, including myself, would watch that video and think about missionary trips and/or alms for the poor.  But then another thought struck me: that the end of the video and all the poor people shown weren’t the most important lesson to be learned, to be focused on today. 

Jesus gave us the commandment to love as He loved, and the video showed reasons why that is the reason for which He created us.  It didn’t delve deeply, however, on the reasons why the two boys didn’t know that; they didn’t have the life experience which taught them that. 

The number of people who now abuse alcohol and drugs is increasing in the United States, as is the number of children now living in abusive homes as the two boys were --- or who are being ignored by their parents, who have “more important things to do.”  We see the numbers of marriages and children decreasing in this country, and the number of child-care centers and very young people rapt in cell phones hugely increasing.  In the  video I watched, the two boys found love and family the key experiences, the purpose of life.  Huge numbers of children in the U.S. today don’t know their purpose, except to get money and make themselves happy.  That is their human experience.  Like the two boys, they too grow up lacking love.

Starting with ourselves, our families, our churches, our country: we need to change; we need to make love of neighbor a purpose of our lives, to live as Jesus lived.

 

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I ordered and sent copies of that DVD video to two of my niece’s young kids, who are just graduating and entering the work world.  But then I realized that they probably don’t have a DVD player (another thing that is disappearing from the world).  Oh well, I’ll send them a copy of this blog posting, in love.

 

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Then this morning I heard the Gospel read at mass on this feast day of The Beheading of John the Baptist.  The mass sermon focused on that event and the faith of John, who died as a precursor of Jesus; we need a firm faith like his.  It didn’t focus so much on the ego of Herod, and that we need to stop acting like him.  No, we don’t have many heads chopped off (I hope), but we do let our pride rule our lives, trying to do things so everyone will love us, and in particular, our children.  I hear of many parents ignoring their children’s sins, to keep the family peace (acting like Herod).  There is a difference between actions which keep a relationship together, of loving a person but not their sinful deeds, and actions which imply we agree with their sinful deeds.  Jesus was blunt about what will happen to those who lead His little children astray.  In this morning’s Readings I read this meditation about John: “His persecutors had demanded not that he should deny Christ, but only that he should keep silent about the truth.”  But he wouldn’t.

 

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And as I concluded my night prayers at the end of the day, I included prayers which God seems to have given us for these times:  The Divine Mercy Chaplet, the Litany of Humility, and the Litany of Trust.